


Break Up With Him

by TeamHPForever



Category: How to Get Away with Murder
Genre: 5+1 Things, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-14
Updated: 2016-09-14
Packaged: 2018-08-14 23:24:25
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,853
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8033074
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TeamHPForever/pseuds/TeamHPForever
Summary: 5 times Kan breaks up with Laurel and 1 time she breaks up with him





	Break Up With Him

**Author's Note:**

> Despite being a loyal Frank/Laurel shipper, it still bothers me that we never got closure for Laurel and Kan. Inspired by Old Dominion's "Break Up With Him."

_Tell him that it’s over_  
_Then bring it on over_  
_Stringing him along any longer girl, it’s just wasting precious time_  
_Girl, you know it can’t wait_  
_Rip it off just like a band-aid_  
_The way you look at me, girl, you can’t pretend_  
_I know you ain’t in love with him, break up with him_

  
  
1\. It’s crazy. Fucking insane, really. Laurel knows that it is, she just doesn’t care. All she wants to think about are Frank’s lips sucking their way down her throat, his fingertips digging into her hips like he’s afraid she might leave if he lets go.  
  
A cold wind hits her back, raising goosebumps on her skin. Frank runs his hands up her arms, rubbing them away. He holds her closer, the heat of his body setting hers on fire. The wooden railings of Annalise’s porch dig into her back. “We should go somewhere else,” Laurel says, trying not to think about how lucky they were not to get caught the first time.  
  
“Why?” Frank’s teeth prick quickly against her throat. “Everyone else went home. Annalise is halfway to bed by now.”  
  
“Maybe I don’t like to be fucked against someone else’s porch,” Laurel snarls.  
  
“That’s not what you said last time.” Frank’s grinning now, that primal look in his eyes that always makes her go a little bit weak in the knees. He moves in closer, setting her on the railing. Her legs wrap around his waist.  
  
“Shit.”  
  
Frank looks first, his hands curling possessively around her waist and pulling her back to standing. It’s Kan, his eyes wide with shock. There’s a pizza box in his hands underneath his textbooks.  
  
Laurel pushes Frank back hard. “Kan, what— I’m—” She knows that nothing she could say right now can make this better. His eyes are flashing with hurt, fingers gripping the pizza box hard enough to bend the cardboard.  
  
“I thought something might be going on with you two,” Kan says. “But I convinced myself that it was just him.”  
  
“I’m sorry,” Laurel says at the same time Frank growls, “It’s not.”  
  
“I hope this is what you want.” Kan glances from Frank to Annalise’s house before he turns around and disappears down the dark street.  
  
Frank’s hand creeps back around Laurel’s waist but she pushes it away. “I’m going home,” she says. “Alone. I told you this was a mistake.”  


***

  
  
2\. It’s only when Laurel falls into bed at night that she thinks about how long it’s been since she’s seen Kan. Between exams and Annalise running them all ragged on the latest case, she hasn’t had much time to sleep in her own apartment—let alone meet up with her boyfriend.  
  
In the five seconds it takes her to burrow into her mattress, she resolves to call him in the morning. She doesn’t have to be at court until noon. Maybe they could grab breakfast.  
  
Laurel oversleeps, completely losing any hope of breakfast or even a phone call as she runs out the door. She barely makes it to court on time, Annalise giving her a stern look as she stumbles into the courtroom.  
  
She calls him when she gets home that night. “Hey,” Kan says as he answers. His voice, normally full of warmth when she calls, seems quiet and empty.  
  
“I’m sorry,” Laurel bursts out. “I’ve been so busy, but we just finished a big case—not guilty verdict, by the way—and I should have some free time over the next few days. Do you want to come over tomorrow? I’ll make dinner, we can watch a movie…”  
  
Kan doesn’t say anything for a minute. Laurel sits down hard on the end of the couch. Finally, “I don’t think I can do this anymore, Laurel.”  
  
“What do you mean?”  
  
“I can’t only talk to you for a day every few months. I know you’re busy and obviously I support you taking the time you need for school and your work with Annalise, but I just feel like you don’t have time for me. I’m not sure you even really notice.”  
  
“Of course I notice. I wanted to call you for breakfast this morning but then I was running late for court.” Laurel’s hand shakes. He couldn’t really be about to break up with her over the phone, could he?  
  
“That’s exactly what you told me a month ago before our last date.” Kan sighs heavily. “I’m sorry, Laurel.”  
  
“Goodbye, Kan.” She hangs up before he can say anything, biting down hard on her bottom lip. If she’s being honest with herself, she always knew something like this was going to happen. Kan was smart, handsome, and driven. He deserved someone willing to give him the time of day—even if they were busy too. She pushes herself to her feet and goes to dig a container of peanut butter chunk ice cream out of the freezer.  


***

  
  
3\. Laurel curls up in a chair. Annalise’s house is dark and silent. Her phone glows, letting her know that it’s midnight. She’s combing through decades-old case files, looking for something they can use to play to the judge’s sympathies. Michaela left hours ago, claiming she was going to study for torts. Connor’s probably out with his hacker boyfriend. Wes and Asher are who knows where, along with Annalise, Frank, and Bonnie. She has to admit Annalise’s house is a little creepy empty.  
  
Laurel scowls and tosses away another file. She’s gone through half the stack already and there’s nothing. Annalise is going to kill her if she doesn’t have anything by morning.  
  
Her phone buzzes with a text. Kan. _Where are you?_  
  
She shoots back, _At the library._ She’d told him as much hours ago, when she left the legal aid office to come here. The words on the files swim in front of her eyes as she tries to turn her attention back to them.  
  
_I’m at the library._ Laurel’s heart sinks. A few seconds later, _Where are you really?_  
  
Laurel sighs. _Annalise’s. You can come over. There’s no one here._  
  
Kan doesn’t answer. Laurel turns her phone off, gets anxious that Annalise might try to call her, and turns it back on. She’s taking notes on a possible lead when there’s a knock on the door.  
  
“I went by the library,” Kan says when she opens it. “I thought you might like some coffee and a snack.” He hands her a cup of Starbucks and a container of chicken salad.  
  
“I’m sorry.” Laurel takes a sip of the coffee. It’s cold. “I went to the library but Annalise called—”  
  
“Laurel.” Kan holds up a hand. “We’re both lawyers. We both have a pretty good idea of how to read people. You don’t have to lie to me.”  
  
“I know. I just—”  
  
“Don’t want me involved? Or don’t want me around to know what you’ve been up to?” Kan runs a rough hand through his hair, making it stick up in every direction. A breeze tugs at his coat. “Whichever it is, you won’t have to worry about it anymore. I’m done.”  
  
“Kan, don’t…” Laurel doesn’t know what she’s going to say after that. It’s true, she doesn’t want Kan to know what she’s been doing for Annalise. He’s the only thing in her life that isn’t tainted by the memory of a bashed-in skull and a burnt corpse.  
  
“Please, Laurel.” Kan’s eyes are just a touch too shiny. “I can’t do this.”  
  
Laurel turns to go back in the house so she doesn’t have to see him leave. She leans against the closed door and takes another sip of the coffee. Even cold it’s not half-bad. She takes a larger gulp and goes back to work.  


***

  
  
4\. “I don’t like who you’ve become.”  
  
The words shatter like glass in the air. Laurel’s sorting through a stack of files, arranging them by prosecuting attorney for Annalise. She sets them down and looks up. Kan is standing on the other side of the legal aid office, frowning at her. “What do you mean?” Laurel asks. “I’m still me.”  
  
He shakes his head. “You’ve changed, even just over the past couple of weeks. You don’t look like the Laurel I met, the one who wanted to help people through the legal system and protect them from it if necessary.”  
  
“Then what do I look like?” Laurel glares at him, her stomach turning. She’s felt the change too, knows deep down that he’s right.  
  
“Ruthless.” Kan steps across the floor and looks down at her case files. “It’s Annalise, isn’t it? I’ve heard stories about her.”  
  
Laurel snorts. “You should know better than to listen to rumors.”  
  
“I heard that there isn’t anything she won’t do if it means getting her client off.” He taps the folders. “She’s going to ruin you.”  
  
“Don’t be ridiculous.” Laurel scoops the files into her arms, mourning for a second that she’s going to have to sort them all over again. “A reference from Annalise could open any door in this town. A year, two years working for her and then I’ll be able to do whatever I want to do.”  
  
“Not if you’re in prison.” Kan sighs and the sound is like a punch to Laurel’s gut. “Let me know if you ever want to work in the legal aid office, to do some real good. But I don’t think we should see each other anymore.”  
  
Laurel’s jaw drops. “Because of my job?”  
  
“Because whatever you’re doing right now is wrong.” Kan’s eyes are dark as he crosses his arms over his chest. “And you can’t even see that. It’s your life, Laurel, but that doesn’t mean I have to let myself be a part of it.”  


***

  
  
5\. Kan’s a gentleman. He doesn’t shove her through the door, hands roughened by eagerness. He doesn’t press her up against the wall and make her come once before taking her to the bedroom. He doesn’t pop a button or two off her blouse almost ripping it off.  
  
Laurel almost wishes he’d hurry up. She kicks off her shoes and unzips her skirt, dropping it to the floor along with her underwear. She’s been turned on all day, riding around in the car with Frank trying to find a witness willing to take the stand.  
  
“Want you right now,” she whispers, stretching out on her back across her bed.  
  
Kan chuckles, fingers running down his shirt buttons. “I want to take this slow.”  
  
“Slow later.” His shirt is still on. Laurel grabs it and pulls him down onto the bed. “Right now.”  
  
Kan just smiles, pushing himself up to get rid of his pants and briefs. Slides on a condom. A few seconds later, he’s on top of her, inside her. Laurel gasps as she throws her head back. He thrusts in and it’s still too damn slow. She runs her fingernails down his back, trying to goad him on.  
  
Her eyes slip closed, mind wandering back to being in the car with Frank. How badly she’d wanted him to pull over. He would have helped her over the console into his lap. Made some comment about teaching her how to drive a stick.  
  
“Oh Laurel,” Kan sighs, quickening his pace. It’s still not enough. Laurel slides a hand between them, rubbing against her clit. She opens her eyes, trying to focus on Kan’s face. He meets her gaze for a moment, dark eyes almost black, before ducking down to nip his way over her neck.  
  
Laurel closes her eyes again. She would have pulled her skirt up around her waist, giving Frank plenty of room to slide a hand underneath. He’d finger her open quickly, tongue exploring her mouth in time with his thrusts. It wouldn’t take more than a few minutes. He’d unbuckle his belt and pull down his pants just enough. She’d brace herself on the seat and guide him inside.  
  
Kan thrusts hard, hitting the spot that makes her toes curl. Laurel groans, her back arching, and her tongue forms words before she can stop them. “Oh God, Frank.”  
  
Kan stops. Laurel’s about to ask what’s wrong when her brain catches up to her mouth.  
  
Oh. Oh shit.  
  
She should probably say something. Anything. Laurel opens her eyes. Kan’s half-sitting up, still inside of her. “Frank?” he says, his voice cracking.  
  
“I didn’t mean it,” Laurel says, cringing as she says it. “It just slipped out.”  
  
Kan pulls out and moves to sit at the edge of the bed. “Are you having sex with him?”  
  
“No!” Laurel reaches for the blankets, feeling like she needs to be covered for this conversation. “Okay, yes. Twice. But we’re over now, it’s never happening again.”  
  
“But you want it to, right?” Kan stands up, reaches slowly for his pants. He puts them on backwards and tries again.  
  
Laurel can’t think of a good answer to this question so she’s goes for honesty. “Yes.”  
  
“I have to go.” Kan slips his shirt on but doesn’t bother with the buttons. “I’ll see you around, Laurel.”  
  
She hopes not, even if it means never going to the legal aid office or a certain bar again. “Good luck, Kan. With everything.”  


***

  
  
\+ 1. It’s not fair to either of them, Laurel knows that. She knows how stormy Frank’s face gets when she leaves him to go on a date with Kan. She knows that Kan wouldn’t look at her the same way if he knew she was cheating on him.  
  
She just doesn’t know how to reconcile the life she wanted when she arrived at Middleton—the legal aid office, Kan, making a difference—with the one she’s living—Annalise, Frank, looking over her shoulder for the police.  
  
Laurel wakes up on a very rare day off and stares at the ceiling. Kan was clearly the right choice. They had fun together hanging out, he respected her, he shared her drive to work in the legal system to help people, he was pretty damn good in bed. So why couldn’t she stop thinking about Frank? He was an asshole who thought he knew everything about her from his first glance. She knew she’d only been picked to join the Keating Five because he wanted to fuck her. But there was something about him that she thought she recognized and the fact that he could make her toes curl without even trying wasn’t exactly a negative factor.  
  
She thinks about it through a shower, getting dressed, and eating breakfast. She’s no closer to a decision until she finds herself standing outside the legal aid office. Kan’s inside, explaining their work to a tour of prospective students. Laurel lurks in the corner. Once he’s finished, he smiles as he comes over.  
  
“Can we talk?” Laurel says before he can lean in for a kiss.  
  
“Yeah.” Kan’s face slips into a frown. He glances over his shoulder at a couple of new recruits, poring away at a table. “Let’s go outside.”  
  
“I don’t think we should see each other anymore,” Laurel says, ripping it off like a band-aid. “I’m just so busy with class and work, and you have your own classes and legal aid…”  
  
Kan leans back against the brick wall. “Okay.”  
  
“Okay?”  
  
He shrugs. “I guess I kind of expected you might want to break up after you forgot about dinner last week, but I hoped maybe…”  
  
“I’m sorry. Maybe after my internship with Annalise is over—” Maybe once whatever she had with Frank had run its course, they could try again.  
  
Kan shakes his head. “Maybe we should just let it go, yeah?”  
  
“Yeah.” Laurel slumps. “That would be best.”  
  
“I have to get back to work.” He moves like he’s going to give her a hug but seems to think better of it. “Take care of yourself, Laurel. The legal aid office is always open.”  
  
“Thanks, Kan. I appreciate that.”  
  
Once Laurel has her shaking legs under control, she heads away from campus towards Annalise’s. A part of her feels like she should clean house completely, tell Frank they’re done, if they’ve ever even really started. As soon as she walks through the door, she sees him.  
  
He’s asleep on the couch, his jacket folded into a pillow. His hair has fallen loose, bangs hanging down into his face. Laurel’s heart thumps in her chest and she knows she’s done for.  
  
The right thing would have been to never kiss him in the first place, to walk away that night on the porch, to have crushed any feelings she had for him when she found out about his (ex)-girlfriend. The right thing would be to go home right now.  
  
Laurel doesn’t want to do the right thing for once. She sits down by Frank’s feet and watches as his eyes slide open. “Hey.” He blinks at her, pushing his bangs out of his eyes. “Is everything okay?”  
  
She shakes her head. “I broke up with Kan. About half an hour ago.”  
  
Frank sits up, resting a hand on her thigh. The touch is casual, not demanding anything more. “Are you okay?”  
  
“Yeah.” She means it. Unable to take it anymore, Laurel climbs into his lap for a kiss. Frank lets her lead, resting one hand on the back of her neck, the other balancing her hips. It’s not enough. It’s never enough.  
  
The front door creaks open. Laurel leaps off the couch so fast she almost head-butts Frank. Annalise walks in, looking her usual brand of all-knowing. “What are you doing here, Ms. Castillo?” she asks. “It’s not very often my students get a day to themselves.”  
  
“I was just looking for my outline for torts.” Laurel glances around the room. “I must have left it at Connor’s.”  
  
“Go enjoy the rest of your day then.” Annalise nods to her and disappears into her back office.  
  
“Let’s go back to my place,” Laurel whispers, turning back around. She doesn’t want to go to Frank’s place tonight, doesn’t want the memory of Christine or giving him the trophy to color this. Frank’s eyes widen as he nods.  
  
Her apartment is nice. She has the whole upstairs apartment above a bakery, thanks to a friend of a friend of her father’s. Laurel leads Frank around and up the back staircase. Her fingers shake as she shoves the key into the lock.  
  
Frank gives her living room a cursory glance before he turns to her. His hands are strangely gentle as he pushes her back against the door. His lips land on her forehead, her cheeks, before finally coming to rest on hers. He takes his time, kissing like he knows they have all day and all night. Laurel pulls his shirt untucked, reaching for the skin underneath.  
  
Frank grinds against her. Laurel’s head thumps against the door as she breaks out of the kiss with a gasp. “Bed,” she whispers.  
  
“Lead the way.” He moves back just enough so she can walk but keeps his hands on her waist.  
  
There’s barely enough room for the two of them in her bed—she didn’t really buy it with the company of a large man in mind—but they make do. Frank sweeps her into his arms and sets her on the bed before pulling his shirt off over his head. His pants and briefs are quick to follow. Laurel watches the show and pushes herself up, holding his gaze. She tosses her shirt off before reaching behind her to unclasp her bra. As the straps fall slack on her shoulders, Frank climbs onto the bed and tugs them down off her arms.  
  
“You’re so fucking gorgeous,” Frank murmurs, so quietly Laurel isn’t sure he even knows he’s doing it. He kisses her again, deeper this time. Laurel’s hands slide down the expanse of his back. She gasps as he unzips her jeans and shoves a hand inside them.  
  
They move faster after that. There’ll be time for slow later, when they’ve gotten the first and second rounds out of the way and have recovered, perhaps with the help of a quick dinner. Laurel arches her back, helping Frank pull her jeans and underwear off. He sits up on his knees for a moment, scanning her with that hungry look in his eyes.  
  
“Are you going to sit there and make me do everything myself?” Laurel teases, hand sliding down between her legs. Frank groans and grabs her wrist before she can slide a finger inside. He pins her arm to the bed as he moves between her legs.  
  
“I’m not going to let you do anything,” Frank promises, pushing a finger inside her. Laurel’s back arches off the bed and she bites her bottom lip against the whine rising in her throat. He knows exactly where to push and how to twist his fingers to send her squirming, has known from the start things that Kan took weeks to puzzle out. It’s not fair that he knows her body better that she does.  
  
“Frank, come on,” Laurel groans as he slides a third finger into her. She’s so close and yet somehow it isn’t enough. He opens his mouth, undoubtedly to make some sort of sarcastic comment, and then stretches out over top of her. He releases her wrist, freeing his hand up to guide himself inside her. He thrusts in all the way to the hilt and, even for all his preparation, she can still feel the stretch.  
  
This is what she wants. No matter what she’s done, what he’s done, the two of them together is what feels right.  
  
“Laurel,” Frank murmurs into the crook of her throat as he thrusts in again. It sounds like a prayer. “Mine.”  
  
She wraps her arms around his shoulders, holding him in place, feeling the steady flex of his back. “Mine.”  
  
Frank’s restraint shatters, each new thrust deeper and harder than the last. Laurel gasps, hips bucking up in rhythm, fingers grasping at him. Fire crackles beneath her skin. He braces his weight against one arm, slipping the other between them. His fingers rub at her clit.  
  
Laurel shatters, her orgasm crashing through her. Her arms slip to the bed, hands fisting in the covers. Frank thrusts once, twice more, and moans as he comes. They stay tangled up, skin sticking together, as they catch their breath. At long last, Laurel nudges Frank until he rolls off her, sliding out with the movement. She tucks her head onto his chest, listening to the rapid pace of his heart.  
  
“Come to dinner with me tomorrow night,” Frank says.  
  
Laurel twists her head to look up at him. His blue eyes are serious. She thinks about all the times they’ve eaten dinner together at Annalise’s and then pictures the two of them sitting across a little table from each other in the corner of some diner. “Okay.”  
  
“Yes?” Frank grins at her and, for once, it doesn’t look like the arrogant smirk he so often wears.  
  
Laurel places a kiss along his jaw, the closest place she has the energy to reach. “I want to go to dinner with you.”


End file.
